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Issues of Justice in Sustainability Transitions

Abstract

This chapter focuses on issues of justice in sustainability transitions. Although there is an increasing focus in academia, policymaking and practice on the importance making sustainability transitions not only environmentally and economically sustainable, but also just and fair so that costs and benefits are shared equally, this chapter illustrates that social inequities can often be exacerbated rather than alleviated in the context of sustainability transitions. Indeed, people who are vulnerable and marginalised do not often benefit from sustainability transitions: they may have limited opportunities to actively participate as citizens and suffer from negative consequences of climate and energy policies and projects. Such injustices are often the reason for contestations of developments, projects, policies and initiatives that are part of sustainability transitions. This underlines the importance of considering questions of distributional, recognition, procedural, restorative, cosmopolitan, spatial, postcolonial, intergenerational and multispecies justice when designing, developing, and implementing sustainability transition policies and projects across all socio-technical systems.

Category

Academic chapter

Language

Other

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Community / Mobility
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Year

2026

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Book

Introduction to Sustainability Transitions Research

ISBN

9781009437325

Page(s)

297 - 314

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository